I ran into some difficulties that I believe were related to veganism. As I told my doctor, I had problems with physical depression. My mood was fine, but I did not feel like doing much of anything. I was sleeping too much. Also, the corners of my mouth were cracking. I knew that B-12 deficiency could create such problems. The most common vitamin B-12 deficiency symptoms include tiredness, being irritable, finding it hard to concentrate, difficulty remembering things, and in extreme cases, psychosis or depression. The mouth corner cracks are apparently a more obscure symptom. This puzzled me because I was taking a multivitamin that included B-12.
Someone on the Vegan Fitness and Nutrition team on SparkPeople mentioned that there are different forms of B-12. Cyanocobalamin is an artificial form made with cyanide. It is commonly used in supplements. That was the form used in my multivitamin tablets. Another form, methylcobalamin, is natural. It is more readily absorbed. It is the specific form needed for nervous system health, according to an article by Dr. Peter D’Adamo.
- Jarrow Formulas Methyl B-12
I bought a bottle of Jarrow Formulas Methyl B-12 1000. I felt better very quickly. I also noticed that I was having fewer problems with my eyes. I had noticed over the past couple previous months that my eyes were not adjusting quickly after reading. The speed of accommodation was much improved after starting to take the Methyl B-12. Since I saw such good improvement, I decided that perhaps I should change my multivitamin as well. I discovered that multivitamins produced by NSI are formulated with methylcobalamin. When I run out of my current multivitamin, I will be switching to NSI Synergy Basic Multi-Vitamin Version 3.
[Edit: This post was recovered from my old Exploring Veganism blog.]